Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $14.04 Million Stock Position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 48.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 899,698 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 294,806 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $14,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MP. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 205.4% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 204.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 817.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 3,262 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MP Materials Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MP opened at $23.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.35 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $20.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.26. MP Materials Corp. has a 52 week low of $10.02 and a 52 week high of $26.00.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.71 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.09% and a negative return on equity of 8.44%. On average, analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MP. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,667 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.68, for a total value of $4,852,913.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 17,608,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $364,141,898.12. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total value of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 260,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,451.50. This trade represents a 11.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 655,890 shares of company stock worth $14,878,628. Insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.